Networked Device with Power Usage Estimation

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for a networked device to estimate its own power or energy usage, and report it over a network is disclosed. The method of reporting energy usage status by the networked device comprises receiving a power usage status request from a network, retrieving a set of power usage data from a non-volatile memory located within the networked device, the power usage data having been previously stored in the non-volatile memory, calculating a best estimate of the energy usage status on the set of power usage data retrieved from the non-volatile memory, and sending the best estimate of the energy usage status over the network as a reply to the power usage status request. A log of time spent in the different operating conditions by the networked device may be maintained, and the best estimate of the energy usage status calculated based on both the set of power usage data and the log of time spent in the different operating conditions. The networked device disclosed comprises, means for connecting to a network, means for storing a set of power usage data, and means for calculating a best estimate of the energy usage status based on the set of power usage data. An energy usage status request is received from the network and the best estimate of the energy usage status is sent in a response message over the network. The networked device may be a networked light bulb.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Prov. Appl. No. 61/254,709entitled “HYBRID LIGHT” filed on Oct. 25, 2009, and U.S. Prov. App. No.61/261,707 entitled “AUTOMATED LOAD ASSESSMENT DEVICE” filed Nov. 16,2009, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present subject matter relates to home automation networking. Itfurther relates to the monitoring and reporting by networked devices oftheir power or energy usage.

2. Description of Related Art

Providing home automation functionality using networking means is wellknown in the art. Control of lighting and appliances can be accomplishedusing systems from many different companies such as X10, Insteon® andEchelon.

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,528,954, inventors Lys and Mueller describe a smartlight bulb which may include a housing, an illumination source, disposedin the housing, and a processor, disposed in the housing, forcontrolling the illumination source. The housing may be configured tofit a conventional light fixture. The illumination source may be an LEDsystem or other illumination source. The processor may control theintensity or the color of the illumination source. The housing may alsohouse a transmitter and/or receiver. The smart light bulb may respond toa signal from another device or send a signal to another device. Theother device may be another smart light bulb or another device. They goon to describe a modular LED unit which may be designed to be either a“smart” or “dumb” unit. A smart unit, in one embodiment, includes amicroprocessor incorporated therein for controlling, for example, adesired illumination effect produced by the LEDs. The smart units maycommunicate with one another and/or with a master controller by way of anetwork formed through the mechanism for electrical connection describedabove. It should be appreciated that a smart unit can operate in astand-alone mode, and, if necessary, one smart unit may act as a mastercontroller for other modular LED units. A dumb unit, on the other hand,does not include a microprocessor and cannot communicate with other LEDunits. As a result, a dumb unit cannot operate in a stand-alone mode andrequires a separate master controller. The smart light bulb may beassociated with a wide variety of illumination applications andenvironments.

Ducharme et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 7,014,336, describe systems andmethods for generating and/or modulating illumination conditions togenerate high-quality light of a desired and controllable color, forcreating lighting fixtures for producing light in desirable andreproducible colors, and for modifying the color temperature or colorshade of light within a prespecified range after a lighting fixture isconstructed. In one embodiment, LED lighting units capable of generatinglight of a range of colors are used to provide light or supplementambient light to afford lighting conditions suitable for a wide range ofapplications. They go on to describe a networked lighting system. U.S.Pat. No. 7,651,245 invented by Thomas, et al., shows an LED lightfixture with internal power supply. They describe some embodiments wherea radio frequency control unit can receive commands from a centralizedcontroller, such as that provided by a local network, or from anothercontrol module positioned in a fixture in close proximity. Thus, therange of the lighting network could be extended via the relaying and/orrepeating of control commands between control units.

Neither Lys and Mueller, Ducharme et al. nor Thomas, et al. discussmonitoring or reporting the power consumed in their smart light bulb.

Inventors Chemel et al. show a method and system for designing improvedintelligent, LED-based lighting systems. The LED based lighting systemsmay include fixtures with one or more of rotatable LED light bars,integrated sensors, onboard intelligence to receive signals from the LEDlight bars and control the LED light bars, and a mesh networkconnectivity to other fixtures. In at least one embodiment, lightfixtures or associated control systems may measure the electricitythey've consumed, and report it back to a utility for billing purposes.In another embodiment, the operator user interface may be adapted toprovide an operator of the environment with tools for visualizing theenergy consumed by at least one of the lighting systems.

The system described by Chemel et al. requires expensive sensors tomeasure the electricity that has been consumed. Measuring the energyconsumed and reporting it to the user or home owner is becoming moreimportant over time as more and more people want to make their lifestylemore “green” and carefully monitor and control their energy usage. Atthe same time, home automation is becoming more prevalent and easier touse. Devices enabled for home automation include control andcommunication means allowing the devices to include more functionality.So it is becoming very important to enable devices to report their ownenergy usage as accurately as possible while adding as little cost aspossible to individual devices or to the home in general.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of the present subject matter are herein disclosed.One embodiment is a method of reporting energy usage status by anetworked device comprising receiving an energy usage status requestfrom a network, retrieving a set of power usage data from a non-volatilememory located within the networked device, the power usage data havingbeen previously stored in the non-volatile memory. The method continuesby calculating a best estimate of the energy usage status based on theset of power usage data retrieved from the non-volatile memory andsending the best estimate of the energy usage status over the network asa reply to the energy usage status request. In one embodiment, thenetworked device is a networked light bulb. Some embodiments test thenetworked device to determine an amount of power used by the networkeddevice for at least one operating condition of the networked device,determine the set of power usage data based on the testing of thenetworked device, and store the set power usage data in the non-volatilememory located within the networked device. This is all done prior toset of power usage data being retrieved from the non-volatile memory.Other embodiments create the set of power usage data based on data fromsimilar networked devices, and store the set of power usage data in thenon-volatile memory located within the networked device instead ofactually measuring the power used by the particular device. In someembodiments, the set of power usage data comprises a single power usagedata point. In others, the set of power usage data comprises two or morepower usage data points based on different operating conditions of thenetworked device. In some embodiments, a log of time spent in thedifferent operating conditions by the networked device is maintained,and the best estimate of the energy usage status is calculated based onboth the set of power usage data retrieved from the non-volatile memoryand the log of time spent in the different operating conditions by thenetworked device. In at least one embodiment the networked device is anetworked light bulb and the different operating conditions of thenetworked device comprise different brightness levels of the networkedlight bulb. And in some embodiments, the different operating conditionsof the networked device comprise at least a standby condition and afully operational condition. One embodiment estimates the energy usagestatus by ascertaining a current operating condition of the networkeddevice and calculating the best estimate of the energy usage status byinterpolating between two power usage points taken from the set of powerusage data based on the different operating conditions associates withthe two power usage points and the current operating condition of thenetworked device.

At least one embodiment is a networked device comprising, means forconnecting to a network, means for storing a set of power usage data,and means for calculating a best estimate of the energy usage statusbased on the set of power usage data. A energy usage status request isreceived from the network and the best estimate of the energy usagestatus is sent in a response message over the network. In someembodiments, the set of power usage data is based on measurements takenof actual power used by the networked device and in others it may bebased on power used by similar networked devices. The set of power usagedata may comprise a single power usage data point or it may comprise twoor more power usage data points based on different operating conditionsof the networked device. Some embodiments further comprise means formaintaining a log of time spent in the different operating conditions bythe networked device. The means for calculating the best estimate of theenergy usage status in some embodiments utilizes both the set of powerusage data and the log of time spent in the different operatingconditions by the networked device. In one embodiment, the networkeddevice is a networked light bulb and the different operating conditionsof the networked device comprise different brightness levels of thenetworked light bulb. And is some embodiments the different operatingconditions of the networked device comprise at least a standby conditionand a fully operational condition. Some embodiments further comprisemeans to ascertain a current operating condition of the networked devicewhere the means for calculating the best estimate of the energy usagestatus interpolates between two power usage points taken from the set ofpower usage data based on the different operating conditions associatedwith the two power usage points and the current operating condition ofthe networked device.

At least one embodiment is a networked light bulb comprising a lightemitting apparatus, a controller, a non-volatile memory communicativelycoupled to the controller, a set of power usage data held in thenon-volatile memory, and a network adapter communicatively coupled tothe controller. In that embodiment the network adapter receives anenergy usage status request from the network and communicates it to thecontroller, the controller retrieves the set of power usage data fromthe non-volatile memory and calculates a best estimate of the energyusage status based on the set of power usage data, and communicates thebest estimate of the energy usage status to the network adapter, and thenetwork adapter sends a message over the network containing the bestestimate of the energy usage status. In at least one embodiment thenetwork adapter connects to a wireless network selected from the groupconsisting of Wi-Fi, Z-wave and Zigbee and in some embodiments at leastthe controller and the network adapter are integrated on a singleintegrated circuit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute partof the specification, illustrate various embodiments of the invention.Together with the general description, the drawings serve to explain theprinciples of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a stylized view of a home with a plurality of networkedhome automation devices;

FIG. 2 a block diagram view of a network of home automation devices;

FIG. 3 shows a networked light bulb;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the electronics utilized in oneembodiment of the networked light bulb;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the how a log of device operating conditions ismaintained;

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of how a networked device may estimate energyusage status;

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram view of a network of home automationdevices that can report and display their energy usage and

FIG. 8 shoes a block diagram of a networked device that actuallymeasures energy usage instead of estimating it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present teachings may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures andcomponents have been described at a relatively high-level, withoutdetail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the presentconcepts. A number of descriptive terms and phrases are used indescribing the various embodiments of this disclosure. These descriptiveterms and phrases are used to convey a generally agreed upon meaning tothose skilled in the art unless a different definition is given in thisspecification. Some descriptive terms and phrases are presented in thefollowing paragraphs for clarity.

The term “LED” refers to a diode that emits light, whether visible,ultraviolet, or infrared, and whether coherent or incoherent. The termas used herein includes incoherent polymer-encased semiconductor devicesmarketed as “LEDs”, whether of the conventional or super-radiantvariety. The term as used herein also includes semiconductor laserdiodes and diodes that are not polymer-encased. It also includes LEDsthat include a phosphor or nanocrystals to change their spectral output.

The term “energy usage status” refers to any parameter that could beuseful in determining the energy used by a networked device.Specifically included in the definition are the instantaneous power usedby the networked device at the current or any previous point of time,and the energy used by the networked device over an explicit or implicitperiod of time.

The term “network” refers to a bidirectional communication medium andprotocol to allow a plurality of devices to communicate with each other.

The term “networked device” refers to any device that can communicateover a network.

The terms “networked light fixture”, “networked lighting apparatus” and“networked light bulb” all refer to a networked device capable ofemitting light. While there are subtle differences in the generallyagreed upon embodiments for these terms, they may be usedinterchangeably in this disclosure unless additional detail is providedto indicate that a specific embodiment is being discussed.

Reference now is made in detail to the examples illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and discussed below.

FIG. 1 shows a stylized view of a home 100 with a plurality of homenetworked devices 111-127. In the embodiment shown, the networkeddevices communicate over a wireless mesh network such as Z-wave orZigbee (IEEE 802.15.4). Other wireless networks such as Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11) might be used in a different embodiment. In other embodiments, apower line network such as X10 or HomePlug. In additional embodiments, awired network could be used such as Ethernet (IEEE 802.3). In otherembodiments, an optical network might be employed and some embodimentsmay utilize a heterogeneous network with multiple types of networks.This exemplary home has five rooms. The kitchen 101 has a networkedlight fixture 111, a networked coffee maker 121 and a networkedrefrigerator 123. The bedroom 102 has a networked light fixture 112, anda networked clock radio 122. The hallway 130 has a networked light bulb113. The home office 104 has a networked light fixture 114, a networkcontroller 120, and a home computer 140 connected to a network gateway124. The living room 105 has two networked light fixtures 115, 116 and anetworked television 125. External to the home is a networked floodlight117 and a networked electric meter 126. Homeowner 106 is returning toher home with a networked remote control 127 and decides to turn on anetworked floodlight 117 to light her way.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram view of the automated home 100 showing onlythose devices involved with this particular instance of turning on thenetworked floodlight 117. The network 130 in this embodiment is awireless mesh network meaning that individual devices can communicatewith each other and that messages may be passed between intermediatedevices to be able to reach its intended destination. In some cases, amessage may be passed to a central network controller for processing butin other cases, a message may pass from an initiating device directly toa target device without involving the network controller. In theparticular instance where the homeowner 106 presses a button 127 u onthe remote control 127, a controller 127 c within the remote control 127interprets the button press and creates a network message describing thetask being requested. In this embodiment, the network message needs tobe routed through the network controller 120 so the message created bythe remote control controller 127 c sets that up as the target of themessage and passes the message to the network adapter 127 n of theremote control 127. The network adapter 127 n is unable to send themessage directly to the network controller 120 so it sends a radiofrequency network message 131 to the nearest networked device that iswithin range, is currently powered on, and has the capability to routethe message 131 to another networked device to get it to the networkcontroller 120. In this case, the coffee maker 121 happens to be off andthe refrigerator 123 does not happen to have routing capability, so theradio frequency message 131 is accepted by the network adapter 111 n ofnetworked light fixture 111. The controller 116 n in the networked lightfixture 111 determines that the message 131 is not intended to turn onits LEDs 116 b and it needs to be routed to the network controller 120but the networked light fixture 111 and the network controller 120 arenot able to directly communicate due to distance or interference so thecontroller 111 c uses network adapter 111 n to pass the message 131 tonetworked light bulb 113 as radio frequency message 132. The networkadapter 113 n and controller 113 c determine that the message is notmeant to turn on the LEDs 113 b in the networked light bulb 113, and itis able to directly communicate with the network controller 120, so thecontroller 113 c uses the network adapter 113 n to send a radiofrequency message 133 to the network controller 120.

The network adapter 102 n of the network controller 120 accepts themessage 133 and passes it to the controller 120 c. It then interpretsthe command which may have multiple functions to perform such asadjusting the temperature of the home, disarming an alarm or otherfunctions that are not specified here. But one function that is requiredis to turn on floodlight 117. So the controller 120 c creates a messagetelling the floodlight 117 to turn on and has the network adapter 120 nsend it to the light fixture 116 because the floodlight 117 is out ofrange of the network controller 120. So the message is passed to thelight fixture 116 using its network adapter 116 n and controller 116 cand without turning on its light 116 b. The light fixture 116 is withincommunication range of the floodlight 117 so it sends the message to thefloodlight 117. The network adapter 117 n receives the message andpasses it to the controller 117 c which interprets the message and turnson the light 117 b so that the homeowner 106 can find her way to thedoor.

FIG. 3A shows a front view (with inner structure not shown) and FIG. 3Bshows a side view (with selected inner structure shown in broken lines)of a networked light bulb 300. In this embodiment a networked light bulb300 is shown but other embodiments of the present subject matter couldbe a permanently installed light fixture with a socket for a standardlight bulb, or a light fixture with embedded LEDs or any other sort oflight emitting apparatus. It is also representative of any other type ofnetworked device such as the networked coffee maker 121, the networkedrefrigerator 123, the networked clock radio 122, the networkedtelevision 125 or any other type of device that may participate in ahome automation network. The light bulb 300 is AC powered but otherembodiments could be battery powered or solar powered. The networkedlight bulb 300 of this embodiment has a base with a power contact 301and a neutral contact 302, a middle housing 303 and an outer bulb 304.Each section 301, 302, 303, 304 can be made of a single piece ofmaterial or be assembled from multiple component pieces. The outer bulb304 is at least partially transparent and may have ventilation openingsin some embodiments, but the other sections 301, 302, 303 can be anycolor or transparency and be made from any suitable material. The middlehousing 303 has an indentation 305 with a slot 306 and an aperture 307.A color wheel 221 is attached to the shaft of rotary switch 206 which ismounted on a printed circuit board 207. The printed circuit board 207with the color wheel 221 is mounted horizontally so that the edge 202 ofthe color wheel protrudes through the slot 306 of the middle housing303. This allows the user to apply a rotational force to the color wheel221. As the color wheel 221 rotates, different sections of the coloredarea of the color wheel 221 are visible through an aperture 307. In FIG.3, the current position of the color wheel 221 is such the color sectionwith color 4 is visible through the aperture 307, indicating that theuser has selected color 4 at this time. The color selection mechanism428 may be designed to provide a detent at each section of the coloredarea to make it clear what color is currently selected.

In this embodiment, a second printed circuit board 310 is mountedvertically in the base of the networked light bulb 300. A board-to-boardconnection 311 is provided to connect selected electrical signalsbetween the two printed circuit boards 207, 310. A third printed circuitboard 314 has a plurality of LEDs 313 mounted on it and is backed by aheat sink 315 to cool the plurality of LEDs 313. In some embodiments thethird printed circuit board 314 with a plurality of LEDs 313 may bereplaced by a single multi-die LED package or a single high output LED.In some embodiments the heat sink 315 may not be needed or could be acompletely different configuration than what is shown. A cable 312connects the printed circuit board 207 with the third printed circuitboard 314. The cable 312 carries the power for the plurality of LEDs313. In some embodiments it may be connect the second printed circuitboard 310 directly to the third printed circuit board 314 instead ofpassing the signals through the printed circuit board 207.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the control electronics 400 used in thenetworked light bulb 300. While the following discussion directedprimarily at the embodiment of a networked light bulb 300 the sameprinciples and concepts can be applied by one skilled in the art to anyother networked device. The block diagram is divided into three sections410, 420, 430 corresponding to the three printed circuit boards of FIG.3. Other embodiments may partition the system differently and have moreor fewer printed circuit boards or circuit elements. The three sectionsare the LED Driver section 410, corresponding to the second printedcircuit board 310, the networked controller section 420, correspondingto the printed circuit board 207, and the LED section 430, correspondingto the third printed circuit board 314, The base with contacts 301, 302provides AC power to the AC to DC rectifier 411 to power the LED driver412. The LED driver may be an integrated circuit such as the NXP SSL2101or similar parts from Texas Instruments or others. Several signals areshared in common between the LED driver section 410 and the networkedcontroller section 420 through a board-to-board connection 311. Theboard-to-board connection 311 may be a pin and socket connector system,an edge finger connector system, soldered right angle pins, a cable, orany other method of connecting two boards. The shared signals comprise aground connection, the LED power signal 441, a regulated power voltage442, a control signal 443 and a serial communication signal 444. In someembodiments, the regulated power voltage 442 may be sufficient to powerall the electronics in the networked controller section 420. In otherembodiments, where more power is needed, a DC to DC converter may beincluded in the networked controller section 420 running off the LEDpower signal 441. The ground signal and the LED power signal 441 arethen sent from the networked controller section 420 to the LED section430 over cable 312. The LED section 430 may have a plurality of LEDs 313powered by the LED power signal 441. The LED driver section 410 and LEDsection 430 could correspond to other sections that transform andconsume electrical power or perform operations of a different embodimentof a networked device 300, such as the heating element of a networkedcoffee maker 121, under the control of the networked controller section420.

The networked controller section 420 would be very similar in anyembodiment of a networked device. It has a wireless network adapter 422that receives radio frequency signals through antenna 425 and isconnected to controller 421 by a digital bus 423. In some embodiments,the wireless network adapter 422 may connect to a Z-wave, Zigbee (IEEE802.15.4) or Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) wireless network. Other embodiments mayuse a wired or power line network adapter instead of a wireless networkadapter. In some embodiments, the controller 421 is implemented as amicrocontroller and in some embodiments, the controller 421, wirelessnetwork adapter 422, and digital bus 423 may be integrated onto a singlechip 424 such as the Zensys ZM3102. In some embodiments a timer or clockfunction is included in the networked controller 420. The timer or clockfunction could be implemented as a separate chip, a hardware blockwithin the controller 421, a firmware function within the controller421, or any other way of implementing a timer or clock function. A userinterface such as a color selection mechanism 428 may also be connectedto the controller 421 providing rotational position information throughan electrical connection 426. In other embodiments a user interface maybe provided using other means such as a graphical user interface on adisplay or a keypad or buttons or any other device or combination ofdevices that allows the user to make a selection and provide informationon the selection to the controller 421. A non-volatile memory 426 alsomay be included in the networked controller section 420. Thenon-volatile memory 426 can be a flash memory, an EPROM, abattery-backed up RAM, a hard drive, or any other sort of memory devicethat retains its contents through a power cycle. The non-volatile memory426 can be implemented as a single integrated circuit, a set ofintegrated circuits, a block of memory cells integrated with anotherfunction such as the controller 421 or the wireless network adapter 422or any other implementation. The non-volatile memory 426 is connected tothe controller through a digital connection 427. The digital connectioncould be an I2C bus, an SPI bus, a parallel connection, an internal buswithin an integrated circuit, or any other electrical connections means,using a standard or proprietary protocol.

The non-volatile memory 426 can contain any number of different datadepending on the embodiment including program instructions for thecontroller 421, configuration information for the networked device,temporary data for the program running on the controller 421, a log ofdifferent operating conditions of the networked device over time,networking settings or any other digital information useful in aspecific embodiment. Some embodiments have a set of power usage datastored in the non-volatile memory 426. The set of power usage data hasat least one data point indicating the amount of power used by thenetworked device such as the networked light bulb 300. In someembodiments, the set of power usage data has multiple data points of thepower used corresponding to different operating conditions of thenetworked device. In some embodiments, the operating conditionparameters are explicitly stored with the power data points. In otherembodiments, the operating condition associated with each data point isimplicitly understood by the controller 421 so only a set of power datapoints is stored. In one embodiment, the different operating conditionsof the networked light bulb 300 are different brightness levels of theLEDs 313. In one embodiment, the brightness levels are explicitly storedwith the power level as paired data points such as (25, 1.3), (50, 2.0),(75, 2.5), (100, 2.8) indicating that the networked light bulb 300 uses1.3 W of power when the LEDs 313 are set to a 25% brightness level, 2.0W of power when the LEDs 313 are set to a 50% brightness level, 2.5 Wwhen the LEDs 313 are set to a 75% brightness level and 2.8 W when theLEDs are set to a 100% brightness level. In another embodiment, the setof power usage data for the networked light bulb 300 is simply a set of11 data points such as (0.02, 0.7, 1.0, 1.4, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.4, 2.6,2.7, 2.8) corresponding to the power used by the networked light bulb300 at “Standby” (Dark), 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70% 80%, 90% and100% brightness, the brightness levels understood implicitly by thecontroller. In other embodiments, the set of power usage has two datapoints such as (0.02, 2.8) corresponding to a standby power usage and afull power usage. And in at least one other embodiment, only a singlepower usage data point is stored to represent the best overall estimateof power used whenever the device is in use.

In some embodiments, the set of power usage data is determined based ondesign data, qualification test data, data from the LED supplier, lifetesting, best guess by an engineer or some other method that does notinvolve measuring the power used by the particular networked device inquestion. In some embodiments, the data is calculated and then used foreach and every instantiation of that particular design built. In otherembodiments, each individual networked device is tested and power usagedata collected for one or more operating conditions at the time ofmanufacturing, final product test, final packaging or sometime before itis sold to the end customer, and that measured data from that individualdevice is used to create the set of power usage data that is stored inthe non-volatile memory 426 of the individual networked device.

In some embodiments, the controller 421 controls the brightness of theplurality of LEDs 313 by driving the control signal 443 back to the LEDdriver 412. In one embodiment the controller 421 may simply drive thecontrol signal 443 low to turn the plurality of LEDs 313 on and drivethe control signal 443 high to turn the plurality of LEDs 313 off. Inother embodiments, the controller 421 may drive the control signal 443with a pulse-width modulated signal to control the brightness of theplurality of LEDS 313. In some embodiments, the LED driver section 410is designed to accept power that has been controlled by a standardthyristor-based light dimmer which varies the phase where the AC poweris active. This can interact with the dimming control taking place overthe network. To determine the current dimming level of the LEDs 313, thenetworked controller section 420 may, in some embodiments, includecircuitry to monitor the LED power signal 441 to determine the amount ofdimming taking place. In other embodiments, the controller 421 maycommunicate with the LED driver 412 over the serial communicationssignal 444 to query and perhaps override the current dimming level. Theserial communication signal 444 may also be used to communicate thecurrent operating condition of the networked device, actual measuredpower used if the additional circuitry to measure power is included inthe networked device, color temperature control, device temperatureinformation or any other status or control information that might needto be communicated between the controller 421 and the LED driver 412 ina particular embodiment. The serial communication signal 444 may beimplemented with a unidirectional or a bidirectional communicationprotocol such as RS-232, I2C, USB, SPI or any other standard orproprietary protocol.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show flow charts 500, 510 for different embodiments ofcreating a log of operating conditions in the networked device. Othermethods may also be used in other embodiments. In one embodiment 500 thecontroller 421 detects if the networked device undergoes a change 501 ofcurrent operating condition. A change of operating condition could beturning on, turning off (standby), changing volume, changing a fanspeed, changing the heating level of a heating element, changing thebrightness level, or any other change in the condition of the networkingdevice that could impact the amount of power it uses. If a change ofstate is detected, the controller 421 gets 502 the current time from thetimer operating as a function in the controller or in another device.The time does not need to be highly accurate or even set to a real worldclock time; it just needs to allow relative values of the time to becompared to get an elapsed time convertible to hours. The controller 421must then ascertain 503 the current operating condition of the networkeddevice. In some embodiments, the controller 421 always knows theoperating condition because it is controlling the operating condition.In other embodiment, the controller 421 must query other devices in thenetworked device, such as the LED driver 412, to ascertain the currentoperating condition. Once the current operating condition and time havebeen collected, a data point identifying the current operating conditionand the time are stored 504 in a data structure in memory. Thecontroller 421 then waits 505 for the next change of operatingcondition.

The flow chart 510 of FIG. 5B shows an alternative embodiment ofcreating a log of operating conditions. In the flow chart 510, a clocktick is generated at regular intervals and detected 511 by thecontroller 421. The clock tick can be generated using the same sort ofmeans as the timer of the first embodiment discussed. For each clocktick, the current operating condition is ascertained 513 as describedabove and a data point describing the current operating condition isstored 514 into a data structure. With this method, the time isimplicitly known based on the clock tick. The time between clock ticksmay vary depending on the type of device, the accuracy required of thepower estimation, how often the power usage will be queried, and theembodiment, but one clock tick every 10 minutes might be used in oneembodiment. The controller 421 then waits 515 for the next clock tick.

The memory used for the data structure of the log of operatingconditions may be a separate location in the same non-volatile memory426 that holds the set of power usage data or in some embodiments, itmay be a different memory device, volatile of non-volatile. The datastructure may be a circular queue of fixed size determined at the timethe instructions for the controller are created. In some embodiments,the data structure may be dynamic in size depending on the way thenetworking device is used. In some embodiments, the data structure maybe a linked list or a table. It is clear to one skilled in the art thata log of operating conditions cannot be of infinite size due to storagelimitations, so tradeoffs must be made in the design of a particularembodiment. In the case where a data point is created every 10 minutesas in the embodiment described above and where an 8 bit byte cansufficiently describe the operating condition, such as a brightnesslevel at 0.5% granularity or less, a data structure of 256 bytes canhold a log containing over 42 hours of data before some data is lost.That would be adequate for an embodiment where it is expected that alldevices will be queried by a centralized power management console atleast once each day.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart 600 for calculating a best estimate of theenergy usage status based on the set of power usage data stored innon-volatile memory 426. The network adapter 422 receives 601 a messagefrom the network and relays it to the controller 421 which checks 602 tosee if it is a request for energy usage status. If it is not, thecontroller 421 processes 603, whatever the message is, and then waits604 for the next message. If it is a request for energy usage status,the controller 421 examines 606 the request to see if it is a requestfor the current power being used by the networked device or if it is arequest for the amount of energy used over a given period of time. If itis a request for the current power used, several different techniquescan be used, depending on the set of power usage data stored innon-volatile memory 426 and the accuracy required by a particularembodiment. The flow chart 600 shows a method where the controller 421ascertains 607 the current operating condition of the networked deviceand then searches the set of power usage data to find 608 the two datapoints closest to the current operating condition. If one of the datapoints exactly matches a stored data point, the power given for thatdata point can directly become the estimate of current power used. Ifthe current operating condition does not exactly match a data point fromthe set of power usage data, the controller 421 interpolates 609 betweenthe two closest data points in the power usage data set. As an examplefor the networked light bulb 300, if the current operating condition is60% brightness and the two closest data points are (50, 2.0) and (75,2.5) the controller would determine that 60% brightness is 40% of theway between 50% brightness and 75% brightness and would then calculatethe estimate of the current power by adding the power level at 50% to40% of the difference between the power levels at 50% and 75% as shownin the following equation: 2.0+0.4*(2.5−2.0)=2.0+0.4*0.5=2.0+0.2=2.2 W.In other embodiments, the data point from the power usage data nearestto the current operating condition may be used instead of interpolatingvalues, in this example, the 50% brightness operating condition leadingto a power estimate of 2.0 W. In other embodiments where only a singlepoint is included in the set of power usage data, that data point may beused as the estimated power for all cases where the networked device isconsidered “On” and zero (or some other low value determined by aconstant when the instructions for the controller where created) used asthe power estimation for cases where the networked device in “Off” or instandby mode. Once the estimation of the current power has beencompleted, the estimate is sent 610 over the network to the device thatmade the original request and the networked device then waits 604 forthe next network message.

If the request is for the energy used over a period of time, thecontroller 421 retrieves 611 the log of operating conditions frommemory. It must then determine the amount of time to use for the energycalculation. In some embodiments, the amount of time will be explicitlyincluded with the request. In other embodiments the amount of time maybe implicit, and the controller 421 then makes a calculation based onthe instructions created at the time the networked device was designed.For this example, the request explicitly requests the power usage fromthe last hour. The controller starts with the most recent entry of thelog of operating conditions and determines 612 the power used by thenetworked device at that operating condition using the methods describedabove for estimated the current power used. The power determined is thenmultiplied 613 by the amount of time (converted to hours) represented bythat entry in the operating condition data structure. If the method ofFIG. 5A was used, the time between the current time and the time storedin the data structure must be used for the first entry and thedifference in the time entries between adjacent entries used for otherentries. If the method of FIG. 5B was used, each entry constitutes anequal amount of time. If that method was used, an additional energyfactor for the energy used between the last entry of the log and thecurrent time may be added using the current operating condition for moreaccuracy in some embodiments. A running sum of the energy used for eachentry in the log is kept. The time of the next entry in the log isexamined 614 to see if enough data from the log has been analyzed tocover the period requested. If another entry is required, the powerlevel for that entry is determined 612 and multiplied 613 by the timeand summed. In some embodiments the amount of time for the operatingcondition entry will be determined by the length of time requested forthe energy calculation. For example, if the first entry in the log ofcurrent operating conditions is from 4 hours ago because the networkeddevice has not been used since then, the power estimation will multiplythe power level for the operating condition stored in the first entry ofthe log multiplied 613 by 1 hour in the current example because that isthe period requested, even though the first entry in the log is 4 hoursearlier. In some embodiments, the networked device may not maintain alog of operating conditions. In those embodiments, the networked devicemay simply use the current operating condition as the operatingcondition for the entire period requested or may simply use a fixedaverage power usage value multiplied times the period to come up with anestimate. Once the estimation of the energy used has been completed, theestimate is sent 610 over the network to the device that made theoriginal request and the networked device then waits 604 for the nextnetwork message.

FIG. 7 shows a set of networked devices in the networked home 100 thatis used for an example of how the energy usage status estimation methodsdescribed above may be used. A computer 140 running a power managementconsole application with display 700 is connected to a gateway device124. The gateway device 124 has a computer interface 124 a that allowscommunication with a standard personal computer. The interface 124 a cansupport any method of communication including but not limited to USB,Ethernet, IEEE-1394, Wi-Fi, Power line networking or any standard orproprietary communication means. The gateway device 124 has its owncontroller 124 c and a network adapter 124 n to allow it to connect tothe network 130 and communicate with the networked devices 111-127. Thepower management console 700 may query the network controller 120,communicating with its controller 120 c through its network adapter 120n, to determine what networked devices 111-127 are currently availableon the network 130. For this example, the network controller 120provides information to the power management console 700 that the lightbulb 115, the floodlight 117, the refrigerator 123 and the television125 are available and support energy usage status requests.

The power management console than sends a request for the energy usedover the last 24 hours to the floodlight 117 because it has not beenavailable for requests for some time and the power management console700 does not have any recent information. The power usage request thengoes through the network from the gateway's network adapter 124 n to thefloodlight's network adapter 117 n. In this embodiment, the network is amesh network so the message may be routed through other networkeddevices to be properly delivered to the floodlight 117 as describedabove in the descriptions of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. Once the floodlight'scontroller 117 c gets the request, it estimates the power used over thelast 24 hours. In this example, the floodlight is not dimmable and itonly has two entries in its set of power usage (0.05 & 15). Its firstoperating condition log entry was turning on 20 minutes ago and the nextentry was turning off 36 hours earlier. So the controller uses that datato estimate an energy usage of 23.67*0.05+0.33*15=6.18 Wh and returnsthat information to the power management console 700 which may store theestimate in a database.

The power management console 700 then determines that it only needs thelast 2 hours of energy usage from the networked light bulb 115, so itsends a request over the network 130 to the light bulb's network adapter115 n, the light bulb's controller 115 c retrieves the log of operatingconditions which has an entry every 15 minutes and shows that over thelast 8 entries covering the two hour time period of interest, the lightbulb has been at full brightness for 6 of those entries and at 30%brightness for the other two entries. The controller 115 c then gets theset of power usage data and finds a single entry of 20 W so it estimatesthe energy used over the last two hours by interpolating the power usedwhen the brightness was 30%. It interpolates between 0 and 20 W to get 6W for a brightness level of 30% and multiplies it by the 0.5 hour timefor two periods to come up with an estimate of 3 Wh used for that 0.5hour time period. It then adds that to the energy used during the 1.5hours that the light bulb was at full brightness, 20*1.5=30 Wh to get anestimate of 33 Wh used for the 2 hour time period and returns theestimate to the power management console 700.

The power management console 700 has been pre-programmed in this exampleto query the refrigerator 123 with network adapter 123 n and controller123 c, and the television 125 with network adapter 125 n and controller125 c only once every 24 hours and since the television 125 was queried4 hours ago in this example, the power management console 700 does notquery the television 125 at this point in time. It is due to query therefrigerator 123, so it sends a request for the energy used by therefrigerator over the last 24 hours over the network 130. Therefrigerator's controller 123 c receives the request from the networkadapter 123 n. The refrigerator's set of power usage data has a singledata point giving the power used with the compressor is running (600 W).The log of operating conditions stores one entry each hour showing howmany minutes the compressor has run. So the controller 123 c goesthrough the last 24 entries of the log and multiplies the number ofminutes of each entry by 600/60, accumulating the total, estimating thatthe refrigerator has used 800 Wh over the last 24 hours, and send theestimate to the power management console.

The power management console 700 may display the information it hasreceived and stored in a database in many different ways to help thehomeowner determine how to utilize her home in a way to be more “green”.One display is a simple bar chart showing the energy used in the lastmonth by each device. Other displays may show the highest peak users orthe amount used by each networked device when electrical rates are attheir highest. In some embodiments, the power management console 700 maybe able to communicate with the networked electric meter 126 to get thetotal electrical usage of the home as well as possibly receive messagesfrom the electrical utility. Different embodiments of the powermanagement console 700 may provide a wealth of other information.

The networked devices described thus far do not actually measure thepower they use during normal operation. They simply estimate their powerusage based on a set of power usage data stored in the networked deviceand readily available information on what the networked device is doingso that no additional circuitry is required to actually measure thepower used. Some embodiments may determine that it is important tomeasure power used more accurately than can be estimated. FIG. 8 showsan embodiment of such as networked light bulb 800. The networked lightbulb 800 is connected to a power source 801 and includes a light source803, a CPU 804 and wireless network adapter 805 connected to the CPU bya digital bus 806. The CPU 804 of this embodiment includes memory thatcan be used for a log of power used. This networked light bulb 800 hasincluded measurement circuitry 802 as well as including a switch 824controlled by the CPU 804 using a control line 825. The measurementcircuitry 802 also includes an ammeter 822 read by the CPU 804 throughcommunication means 823 and a voltmeter 820 read by the CPU 804 throughcommunication means 821. The light source 803 is connected to the powersource with a neutral line 811 directly connected and the hot line 810connected through the ammeter 822, switch 824 and a conductor 812.Whenever the switch 824 is closed, the ammeter 822 measures the currentflowing through the light source 803 and the voltmeter 820 measures thevoltage across the light source 803 from the hot line 810 to the neutralline 811. The CPU can the multiply the values received from the ammeter822 through communication means 823 and the voltmeter 820 throughcommunication means 821 to determine the actual current power beingconsumed by the light source 803. This may give the most accurate powerreading possible, but the added expense and complexity may not be worthit in many instances. The estimation methods disclosed herein may giveresults that are nearly as accurate as actually measuring the power withno added circuitry beyond what is required for the other operations ofthe networked device.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities ofelements, optical characteristic properties, and so forth used in thespecification and claims are to be understood as being modified in allinstances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to thecontrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the precedingspecification and attached claims are approximations that can varydepending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by thoseskilled in the art utilizing the teachings of the present invention. Atthe very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of thedoctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numericalparameter should at least be construed in light of the number ofreported significant digits and by applying ordinary roundingtechniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameterssetting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, thenumerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported asprecisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently containscertain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviations foundin their respective testing measurements.

The recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numberssubsumed within that range (e.g. 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3,3.80, 4, and 5).

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singularforms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the contentclearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to an elementdescribed as “an LED” may refer to a single LED, two LEDs or any othernumber of LEDs. As used in this specification and the appended claims,the term “or” is generally employed in its sense including “and/or”unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

As used herein, the term “coupled” includes direct and indirectconnections. Moreover, where first and second devices are coupled,intervening devices including active devices may be located therebetween.

Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for”performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specifiedfunction, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause asspecified in 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶ 6. In particular the use of “step of” inthe claims is not intended to invoke the provision of 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶6.

The description of the various embodiments provided above isillustrative in nature and is not intended to limit the invention, itsapplication, or uses. Thus, variations that do not depart from the gistof the invention are intended to be within the scope of the embodimentsof the present invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the intended scope of the present invention.

1. A method of reporting energy usage status by a networked devicecomprising: receiving a request for energy usage status from a network;retrieving a set of power usage data from a non-volatile memory locatedwithin the networked device, the power usage data having been previouslystored in the non-volatile memory; calculating a best estimate of theenergy usage status based on the set of power usage data retrieved fromthe non-volatile memory; and sending the best estimate of the energyusage status by the networked device over the network as a reply to theenergy usage status request.
 2. The method of reporting energy usagestatus by the networked device of claim 1 wherein the networked deviceis a networked light bulb.
 3. The method of reporting energy usagestatus by the networked device of claim 1 further comprising: testingthe networked device to determine an amount of power used by thenetworked device for at least one operating condition of the networkeddevice; determining the set of power usage data based on the testing ofthe networked device; and storing the set of power usage data in thenon-volatile memory located within the networked device for laterretrieval.
 4. The method of reporting energy usage status by thenetworked device of claim 1 further comprising: creating the set ofpower usage data based on data from similar networked devices; andstoring the set of power usage data in the non-volatile memory locatedwithin the networked device for later retrieval.
 5. The method ofreporting energy usage status by the networked device of claim 1, theset of power usage data comprising a single power usage data point. 6.The method of reporting energy usage status by the networked device ofclaim 1, the set of power usage data comprising two or more power usagedata points corresponding to different operating conditions of thenetworked device.
 7. The method of reporting energy usage status by thenetworked device of claim 6 further comprising: maintaining a log oftime spent in the different operating conditions by the networkeddevice; and calculating the best estimate of the energy usage statusbased on both the set of power usage data retrieved from thenon-volatile memory and the log of time spent in the different operatingconditions by the networked device.
 8. The method of reporting energyusage status by the networked device of claim 6 wherein the networkeddevice is a networked light bulb and the different operating conditionsof the networked device comprise different brightness levels of thenetworked light bulb.
 9. The method of reporting energy usage status bythe networked device of claim 8 further comprising: ascertaining acurrent brightness level of the networked light bulb by querying an LEDdriver, the LED driver controlling at least one LED, the at least oneLED used to provide light from the networked light bulb; and using thecurrent brightness level of the networked light bulb in conjunction withthe set of power usage data retrieved from the non-volatile memory tocalculate the best estimate of the energy usage status.
 10. The methodof reporting energy usage status by the networked device of claim 6wherein the different operating conditions of the networked devicecomprise at least a standby condition and a fully operational condition.11. The method of reporting energy usage status by the networked deviceof claim 6 further comprising: ascertaining a current operatingcondition of the networked device; and interpolating between two powerusage points to calculate the best estimate of the energy usage status,the two power usage points taken from the set of power usage data basedon the different operating conditions associated with the two powerusage points and the current operating condition of the networkeddevice.
 12. A networked device comprising: means for connecting to anetwork; means for storing a set of power usage data; and means forcalculating a best estimate of the energy usage status based on the setof power usage data; wherein a energy usage status request is receivedfrom the network; and the best estimate of the energy usage status issent in a response message over the network.
 13. The networked device ofclaim 12 wherein the networked device is a networked light bulb.
 14. Thenetworked device of claim 12 wherein the set of power usage data isbased on measurements taken of actual power used by the networkeddevice.
 15. The networked device of claim 12 wherein the set of powerusage data is based on power used by similar networked devices.
 16. Thenetworked device of claim 12, the set of power usage data comprising asingle power usage data point.
 17. The networked device of claim 12, theset of power usage data comprising two or more power usage data pointsbased on different operating conditions of the networked device.
 18. Thenetworked device of claim 17 further comprising: means for maintaining alog of time spent in the different operating conditions by the networkeddevice; wherein the means for calculating the best estimate of theenergy usage status utilizes both the set of power usage data and thelog of time spent in the different operating conditions by the networkeddevice.
 19. The networked device of claim 17 wherein the networkeddevice is a networked light bulb and the different operating conditionsof the networked device comprise different brightness levels of thenetworked light bulb.
 20. The networked device of claim 19 wherein thenetworked light bulb utilizes at least one LED as a source of light; andthe means for calculating the best estimate of the energy usage statusascertains a current brightness level of the networked light bulb byquerying a means for driving the at least one LED, and uses the currentbrightness level of the networked light bulb in conjunction with the setof power usage data to calculate the best estimate of the energy usagestatus.
 21. The networked device of claim 17 wherein the differentoperating conditions of the networked device comprise at least a standbycondition and a fully operational condition.
 22. The networked device ofclaim 17 further comprising: means to ascertain a current operatingcondition of the networked device; wherein the means for calculating thebest estimate of the energy usage status interpolates between two powerusage points taken from the set of power usage data based on thedifferent operating conditions associates with the two power usagepoints and the current operating condition of the networked device. 23.A networked light bulb comprising: a light emitting apparatus; acontroller; a non-volatile memory communicatively coupled to thecontroller, a set of power usage data held in the non-volatile memory;and a network adapter communicatively coupled to the controller; whereinthe network adapter receives an energy usage status request from thenetwork and communicates it to the controller; the controller retrievesthe set of power usage data from the non-volatile memory, calculates abest estimate of the energy usage status based on the set of power usagedata, and communicates the best estimate of the energy usage status tothe network adapter; and the network adapter sends a message over thenetwork containing the best estimate of the energy usage status.
 24. Thenetworked light bulb of claim 23 in which the network adapter connectsto a network utilizing radio frequency communication.
 25. The networkedlight bulb of claim 23 in which at least the controller and the networkadapter are integrated on a single integrated circuit.
 26. The networkedlight bulb of claim 23 wherein the set of power usage data is based onmeasurements taken of actual power used by the networked light bulb. 27.The networked light bulb of claim 23 wherein the set of power usage datais based on power used by similar networked light bulbs.
 28. Thenetworked light bulb of claim 23, the set of power usage data comprisinga single power usage data point.
 29. The networked light bulb of claim23, the set of power usage data comprising two or more power usage datapoints based at different brightness levels of the networked light bulb.30. The networked light bulb of claim 29, the light emitting apparatuscomprising at least one LED; wherein the controller queries an LEDdriver to determine a current brightness level of the at least one LED,and uses the current brightness level of the at least one LED inconjunction with the set of power usage data to calculate the bestestimate of the energy usage status.
 31. The networked light bulb ofclaim 29 wherein the controller; maintains a log of time spent by thenetworked light bulb at the different brightness levels, and calculatesthe best estimate energy usage status based on both the set of powerusage data and the log of time spent by the networked light bulb at thedifferent levels.
 32. The networked light bulb of claim 29 wherein thedifferent brightness points of the networked light bulb comprise atleast a dark brightness level and a full brightness level.
 33. Thenetworked light bulb of claim 29 wherein the controller; ascertains acurrent brightness level of the networked light bulb, and calculates thebest estimate of the energy usage status by interpolating between twopower usage points of set of power usage data using the brightnesslevels associated with the two power usage points and the currentbrightness level of the networked light bulb.